A donkey who was suffering from extremely overgrown hooves, has been relinquished into the care of The Donkey Sanctuary, after her owner reached out for support following concerns for her welfare.
When the donkey owner from north Lincolnshire contacted us for help, one of our Donkey Welfare Advisers was able to talk through the challenges they were facing. It soon became clear that the donkey, named Jelly, had severely overgrown hooves and needed immediate veterinary treatment; as well as ongoing farriery care and behaviour support which her owner was unable to provide.
Jelly’s owners noticed that her behaviour had become challenging, particularly around handling and farrier care. This led to her hooves becoming overgrown. Recognising that this was affecting her welfare and being unable to find a solution, Jelly’s owners contacted us for help.
Working with her owners we made arrangements for Jelly to come into our care, and after being transported to a local holding base, Jelly received all the care she needed before being introduced to her new companion, a donkey called Dolly. Jelly will now have a safe and loving home for life, either in one of our sanctuaries, or through our Rehoming Scheme in a Guardian Home.
We know the Covid-19 pandemic has created new challenges for all animal owners and we have been working throughout the crisis to support donkeys and their owners wherever possible. Our welfare team are frequently contacted by owners who are no longer able to care for their donkey due to changes in their personal circumstances.
During this pandemic many donkey owners have been worried about how they will continue to care for their donkeys if they suffer ill health or changes to their income. We encourage all donkey owners to plan ahead and to seek help as soon as possible if they experience problems.
Our team of Donkey Welfare Advisers work directly with donkey owners in the community to improve donkey welfare and can help prevent issues before they arise and throughout the Covid 19 crisis, they have been on hand to provide advice to donkey owners and to support donkeys in critical need of help.
